sspargo

What about Lyman?? I've found two different kits that look very similar. The CRUSHER EXPERT DELUXE RELOADING KIT and the T-MAG EXPERT DELUXE RELOADING KIT. Does anyone know the difference? Opinions on Lymans? They are a bit more expensive than the ones at Midway but what about quality??

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sspargo

Also, what about a tumbler??? Are they worth the cost?

__________________
"We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately." - Benjamin Franklin
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson
DID YOU KNOW: 89.3% of all quoted statistics are fabricated

sspargo

And another, realistically, how many times can one reuse brass?

__________________
"We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately." - Benjamin Franklin
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson
DID YOU KNOW: 89.3% of all quoted statistics are fabricated

boscobeans

The Lyman Crusher and T-Mag look great. But to me a little overpriced. If you want a single stage (like crusher) you can find an RCBS or LEE complete kit for a good bit less. The same goes for the turret presses. A single stage is a press that holds only one die at a time. You set the die and do all your brass then change to the next die and perform the next step. Turrets keep several dies set up on a disk and when you want to go to the next reloading step you just index the turret (disk) to the next die. I can change from one die to the next (single stage) in a minute and if reloading the same bullet as before the die is already adjusted (locked in place with a set screw) and ready to go.

I have used RCBS and Lee (single stage presses) for many years and have reloaded many different rifle and pistol rounds with them. Never had a problem as far as strength or durability with either.

I tumble all my brass before reloading. Keeps me and my reloading equipment a lot cleaner. It gets off all the powder residue, inside and outside of your brass and gives it a polished look.

I reloaded rifle brass several times until it starts to stretch out or crack (necked down cartridges more so than straight walled), but with pistol brass I have reloaded it many times and for the most part I have never noticed any need to trim it. In fact sometimnes I think it actually shrinks to a degree. I stay within the recommended loads in my handbooks and tend to stay at the low levels. I reload for practice ammo and carry manufactured rounds for SD.

My practice rounds have been worked out to give me the same feel as the manufactured rounds and if I stagger a cyclinder or magazine with both I can only see the difference (muzzle flash-smoke), the felt recoil and whrere they hit the target are the same.

bosco

maxwell

Like it was said before it depends on how much and how fast you want to make ammo. I bought a Dillon RL450 progressive press when they first came out, I think it was back in the early 80's. It is still going strong. I just reload .45ACP. The newer models have a changeable die head to reload different calibers.

kazzaerexys

I went for the high-end intro to reloading. My g/f got me a Dillon RL-550B for my birthday last summer, and I put a chunk of money into various of the optional add-ons and accessories. Starting point was to reload just .45ACP because we both shoot primarily that caliber for IDPA competition.

All told, start-up costs were somewhere in the $1000 to $1100 range for a progressive setup, but that was a conscious choice, not a requirement.

With range brass (I had been saving my .45 brass for a year before I started rolling my own), I load 100 rounds for about $16. That is about half of what I would have to spend for my preferred practice ammo from Georgia Arms. That means I make up the initial investment in about 6500 rounds. Well, I started loading right after Christmas and have run about 4000 rounds now, so I am well on pace to make up the initial cost by the end of this year. This represents about the same rate of shooting as we had last year, so I am not losing the savings by shooting more.

I load about 200 rounds an hour, but can push that closer to 300 if I really focus---that is, when I mean to load 300 in minimum time, not that I can maintain 300/hr for a long time.

I just started reloading 9mm and that runs me about $13 per 100; not as much of a cost savings as the .45ACP, but still not bad. Coming soon will be much smaller quantities of .40S&W, .38Spl, and .357. I also have brass cased ammo for the AR-15 I am putting together, so I expect to reload rifle eventually with this setup, too.

I'll be happy to help if you have any questions about a progressive style setup.

Good luck!

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“What is a moderate interpretation of [the Constitution]? Halfway between what it says and [...] what you want it to say?” —Justice Antonin Scalia

SIG: P220R SS Elite SAO, P220R SAO, P220R Carry SRT, P226, P239 (.40S&W), P2022 (.40S&W); GSR 5", P6.

dukalmighty

The problem with reloading right now is finding powder and primers that they don't want an arm and 2 legs for.I bought primers at $19.00 to $20.00 1000,I cast my own bullets from scrap lead wheel weights,I have hundreds of pounds of range brass,my reloads in almost every handgun calibre I reload costs me about $5.00 to $6.00 100 rounds.Your cost will depend on how much your components cost.I have over $3000.00 in reloading/bullet casting equipment and it paid for itself in the first year

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Landric

I've just started to get into casting myself. I bought some basic equipment, a Lee pot, a 2-cavity mold, a dipper, etc. I just cast my first bullets yesterday. I shot them today and it went well. I enjoyed the casting, so I suppose I have yet another hobby to take up my time.

I cast my bullets yesterday from wheel weight ingots I bought on ebay. I wanted to make sure casting was for me, and for $20/20 pounds of ingots I figured it would be worth the investment to find out.

Well, time to start scrounging for scrap lead. Luckily my wife works in marketing for a car dealership, and she scored me two 5 gallon buckets of weights, and I got another full bucket locally. Now I have to get my stuff together for smelting I suppose.

The LP pimers I am using cost me about $22/1000, and $12 of powder will do 1000 rounds of .45 ACP, so not counting my time (which I don't, since I enjoy the whole process and I couldn't spend the time working instead even if I wanted to, my job doesn't work that way), I'm looking at about $34 for 1000 rounds using free range pickup brass. Not too shabby.

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-Landric

"The Engine could still smile...it seemed to scare them" -Felix

automatic slim

Your questions are hard to answer because there are so many variables. As far as equipment goes, you could start with a hand press and a set of dies with some basic components for about $75.00. This would turn out shootable ammo. Likewise, you could spring for a progressive press, tumbler, trimmer, carbide dies, top of the line components for $1000.00 and load match grade ammo. Or you could fall anywhere in between. Alot depends on whether you want to load in bulk or just a few. Load target ammo or plinking ammo. I would recommend buying a good manual first, study it thoroughly and see just where you fit in. Myself, after reloading over 30 years I still use a single stage press. I trim and polish my brass but nothing else out of the ordinary. My ammo is for plinking. I do like accurate ammo, but I'm not trying for 1" groups @100 yards. It all depends on who you are.

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doctorw

I reloaded with a friend who had a workshop devoted to the hobby. I found that the ammo smoked way too much, especially for indoor ranges. Also, I carry a Glock, so you cannot use regular lead bullets or you run the risk of lead building up in the barrel. I only shot reloads with my revolver for this reason. For me, it is just too much easier to buy ammo than to reload.